A liver transplant has given a Hinckley woman a new lease of life just six months after she was told she wouldn’t make it past 2014.

Over 15 years ago Julia Jones was diagnosed with a rare disease called primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), a long-term condition that damages and scars the liver.

Since her diagnosis Julia, 41, had continued to lead a happy and healthy life up until last year when her world was flipped upside down.

She explained: “I’d had PBC for so long I just got on with my life as normal and it didn’t really affect me. That is until September last year when I suffered an esophageal bleed.”

Julia was rushed to hospital because of a burst vein, leaving her with internal bleeding to the stomach.

“I had to be given four pints of blood, it was pretty horrendous. It was a massive turning point though - I don’t think I realised just how poorly I was until then. It completely knocked me off my feet.”

The bleed was a result of the damage caused by PBC since the scarring cuts down on blood flowing through the liver meaning more blood flows through the veins of the esophagus.

Following this sudden turn Julia was placed on the transplant waiting list as doctors confirmed she desperately needed a new liver.

“I asked my doctor how long he thought I could carry on as I was and he told me I would not see next year without the transplant - that was quite frightening.

“You start to think about all the people who are around you and how they would cope if something happened.”

Four months after being placed on the list Julia received the much-anticipated call to say a match had been found.

Julia and her husband Geraint in 2012, before she became seriously ill.

“My husband and I had just gone to bed when my phone went off. They said I had got to get to the hospital within an hour so we rushed off and made it there within 45 minutes.”

Unfortunately Julia’s hopes were quickly dashed after surgeons decided the organ was not right and Julia was placed back on the list.

A further five months passed without any news before another call eventually came through. “They told me they had a really good organ from a heart beating donor. We rushed to the hospital and were there for about 10 hours as they prepped me for surgery.

“I had my gown and surgical stockings on and had made phone calls to my family to tell them I was having the op when the doctor came in and said it had been cancelled.”

Once again Julia was left deflated after learning the liver had been used for someone in a critical condition.

“I was absolutely heartbroken but they told me that person would have definitely died without the organ so that gave me some comfort. My mum started to think I was going to die but once I got my head around it I realised it just obviously wasn’t my time.”

As the weeks dragged on Julia’s condition gradually worsened and at one point doctors were not even sure she would be fit enough for a transplant.

She recalled: “When I was really poorly I couldn’t even manage to walk to the bottom of my garden. I was so fragile and I was very jaundiced.”

Two months down the line, during National Transplant Week, Julia got the news she wanted and needed so much - a match had been found once and for all.

“Everything moved so quickly, I rang my husband to tell him and it was all a bit of a whirlwind from there. Before I knew it I was having my blood tests and then I was off to the operating theatre.”

Having waited for 11 months with two false alarms Julia finally had the transplant on July 10 and is now slowly but surely on the mend.

She said: “Everything is heading in the right direction and I feel as though everything is on the up now.

“This is my second chance at life and I owe it all to the donor. Anyone who isn’t already signed up to the donor register - please think about doing it.

“Signing up could extend someone else’s life. Instead of not seeing next year I will probably live for another 30 years now. I can’t even describe how grateful I am.”

For more information about the donor register or to sign up visit www.organdonation.nhs.uk